Gun rights advocate who staged Redondo pier protest will get day in court

A gun rights advocate who strolled along the Redondo Beach pier with a shotgun slung over his shoulder and rifle bullets taped to the butt of the gun - a protest of state and local open carry laws - is set to get his day in court on Wednesday.

Charles Nichols' protest in May 2012 preceded the passage of a state law banning the open carry of rifles and shotguns. But Nichols is alleged to have violated Redondo Beach's 2010 ordinance banning the possession of guns in public parks, which resulted in the filing of a misdemeanor charge by the city.

With his criminal trial slated to begin next week, Torrance Superior Court Judge Chet Taylor on Friday denied a motion to dismiss the case along with a second motion to allow Nichols to select a new public defender.

Through his attorney, Nichols stands behind his argument that the city has no place in regulating guns. The task, both say, should be left to the state.

"Cities can't create their own laws in a field that the state regulates," said John Mattingly, a county deputy public defender who is representing Nichols in the criminal case.

"This ordinance supersedes state law," Mattingly added.

Redondo Beach City Prosecutor Melanie Chavira disagrees with the legal argument that the state alone retains the authority to pass gun restrictions.

Meanwhile, Nichols said he plans to file additional motions requesting a new public defender because he is dissatisfied with Mattingly's performance on the case. Earlier, Nichols fired his private attorney because he said the lawyer didn't agree with his views on the Second Amendment.

Mattingly declined to comment outside court Friday.

Nichols staged the protest to draw attention to his 2011 lawsuit against the state of California, Gov. Jerry Brown, state Attorney General Kamala Harris and the city of Redondo Beach for enacting what he considers to be unjust gun laws.

"That was the point of my protest, to show the stupidity of California gun laws," Nichols said. "I hope to have my case heard in front of the Ninth Circuit of Appeals. "

Nichols, who doesn't hunt and claims he hasn't fired a weapon in more than 20 years, wants California to repeal the state's current ban on the open carry of shotgun, rifles and handguns in public. His lawsuit also calls for the repeal of a 1967 state law that sets limitations on who can carry a loaded weapon in public.

Given the pending litigation, Redondo Beach City Attorney Mike Webb has been reluctant to make extensive comments on Nichols' criminal and civil cases.

But Webb acknowledged the political motivations behind the protest, lawsuit and the argument Nichols is attempting to make in criminal court.

"Every person has a right to challenge laws if they believe they are improper, and ultimately it will be up to a court to decide," Webb said.

Whether Nichols' criminal or civil cases will ever be heard by the Ninth Circuit Court remains to be seen.

But Second Amendment expert and UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh said judges in the lower courts are offering competing views on open-carry gun rights. Eventually, the matter will be settled by the Supreme Court.

"Lower courts are beginning to disagree about this question, and when the lower courts disagree, the decision ultimately ends up in front of the Supreme Court," Volokh said. "Does the right to carry extend only to the home, or does the right extend to many public places, like in your car as you're driving down the street or on your person as you walk down the street? "

Nichols' push to repeal gun control laws is based solely on personal safety.

"I have four ruptured discs in my back. If I come up against a thug, who is going to win?" Nichols said. "The only thing I have to protect myself is a firearm, and in California I can only carry an antique gun or a muzzle loader. I am supposed to tell the thug, wait while I load my gun. "